2015 Editors' Choice: Princeton Tec Sync

Specs

Lumens90

Battery Life70

Weight3 oz

In the last few years, headlamps have been trending toward the super-techy, with rechargeable options, programmable lighting, ambient light sensors, swipe controls, and price tags that will drop your jaw (upwards of $150). Which is exactly why we came to love this basic model. It’s as simple and intuitive as it gets, yet still has all the features we want, and it costs only $30. Rather than relying on complex electronics and a 12-page instruction manual, the Sync uses a simple, foolproof dial on the side of the housing, which lets you manually click back and forth through the five modes (red, spot, high flood, low flood, and max bright). According to our tests, it runs for about 70 hours on max bright before becoming too dim to use. In this case, the Sync has all the technology we want—and none we don’t.